


Tales from Mutant Town

by tmnt_severed



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (IDW Comics), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures (Archie Comics)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-31
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-17 19:01:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29105274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tmnt_severed/pseuds/tmnt_severed
Summary: Billie Siddall has called Mutant Town in New York City home for most of her life. Along with her friends Mona Lisa, Karma and Horridus they keep other mutants safe from those that would do them harm. However, when ATF Agent Pierce Langman comes snooping around and asks the gang for help in a case; the group reluctantly helps the government who would otherwise oppress them.A side story of the TMNT - Severed Universe, branching off from the TMNT Adventures comics series (as well as other bits from various sources) featuring a cast of OC characters as well as forgotten TMNT ones. Tags to be updated as they happen.





	Tales from Mutant Town

Tales from Mutant Town 

Prologue

It was raining again. The young feline mutant huddled in the doorway of a closed and boarded up shop, clutching the only thing she seemed to have left of her former life; a once-white stuffed mouse in a torn pink dress, now covered in mud and tears. She was cold, hungry, and scared. She wanted nothing more than to go home and sleep in her own bed and hug her mom and dad. The problem was she didn't know where home was... or where she was for that matter. She had tried to ask people for help, but most of them had screamed at her, or hit her and chased her away. Even the people that were like her didn't seem to know what to do to help her. They were homeless now, too, they had told her. And hungry, and cold. Billie was only six, but she knew she couldn't rely on anyone out there anymore. She was staring at the street, watching the rain pelt the sidewalk and make ripples in puddles when she noticed something odd. One of the manhole covers to the sewer was slightly off. Not much, but just enough that she could probably squeeze in there. 

The sewer didn't really appeal to the cat that much. She was just barely becoming adjusted to the smells her new nose was registering. Being in the sewer would be stinky, but at least there, she thought, she wouldn't have to worry about strange men coming in the night and taking her away while she slept. That had already almost happened once. The only reason she had gotten away was that she was faster than the big bear had been.

The little cat climbed down from the stairs she cowered on and padded to the open manhole. The rain-soaked her in seconds. She had thought, once, that fur protected animals from rain. She had learned differently. The little girl slid into the small opening and held her breath, the smell immediately assaulting her senses. Down she went, searching out each widely spaced rung with her little feet until they hit solid brick at the bottom. Rain no longer dripped on her and it was much warmer down here than it had been on the surface. It was much darker, too. The only light was filtering in from the streetlights through the open manhole. Billie's eyes adjusted quickly. Another different thing about being a cat; she wasn't afraid of the dark as much anymore. She could see just as clearly with very little light. No monsters were going to get her. She didn't have a bed or a closet for them to come out of anyways.

Those keen eyes caught a small alcove punched into the side of the brick walls just a few feet from her. The light barely glinted off the edge of the stone surrounding. Billie let go of the sewer ladder and finally allowed herself to breathe. It wasn't as bad as she thought. The rain was washing away most of the foul sludge that settled into the stones when they dried. Still, she kept to the sides, trying to only step on the dry parts. Her mother would probably kill her if she found out she'd been in a sewer... to top off all the other places she'd slept over the past few days. Or was it weeks? Billie barely knew how to tell time, let alone dates. 

The alcove, mercifully, was dry. It had a pipe that moved water under the surface further, and an old grate at the end that seemed unused. There was nothing around it but bare concrete. Billie settled there, tucking her small paws under her tiny body to try to keep warm, and hugging her soaked, filthy mouse closer to her frail body. She listened to the sounds of the sewer for a long time, her sensitive ears picking up the footsteps of someone above, rats scrabbling around in the dark, and even the clang of metal somewhere down the path from her. Eventually, exhaustion took over, and the girl fell into a fitful sleep, full of nightmares that were all too real.

They had gone to Union Square because her babysitter, Caroline, said it was important and had promised the little girl ice cream afterward. Billie wasn't interested in the men yelling on the podium, or any of the people around her, she was too busy pretending her stuffed mouse was a princess with her own castle and everything. The little girl was interrupted from her play when Caroline grabbed the back of her shirt and yanked her to one side. Billie was about to ask what was going on when the screaming started. All around them adults dropped to their knees, clutching their faces, surrounded by a green mist that was quickly moving toward the girl and her caretaker. Billie felt Caroline let go of her sweater, and turned back, expecting her babysitter to be there to help her, but Caroline was gone. Billie took a stumbling step forward and realized that the gas was around her now; she was breathing it. The pain took a second to hit her, but when it did the girl was on the ground with the adults screaming and crying for it to stop.

She woke with a start, still screaming in terror from her recurrent dream, tears streaming down her face. It took a moment for her to figure out where she was, and that she was not alone. Before her, crouched in the darkness was a large form- much bigger than her. 

“Hey, kid,” came a voice from the shadow, a hand outstretched towards her as if to calm her, “It's okay, I ain't gonna...”

He didn't get to finish the sentence before the girl was on her feet and attempting to dart past him. She'd managed to get away from the bear that way, and he had been bigger than this one. It didn't work this time. This one was faster. Before she even got to his side, the little cat girl was snagged by the collar and lifted up. Fear still fresh in her mind from her nightmare, Billie did the first thing that her new body told her to. She dropped her stuffed animal, hissed and spat at the figure, bearing tiny claws on both her hands and feet and took wild swipes that came nowhere near the man's body. She heard him chuckle before he spoke again.

“Feisty, ain't ya, kitty cat?” She took another swipe, and this time her claws dragged across something hard. “Calm down,” he continued, sounding more amused than anything. “Like I was saying, I ain't gonna hurt you.” He moved her out of the alcove, still clutching her by the back of her shirt. Panic was swelling over Billie's fear, and now she couldn't hiss and spit anymore. She could feel herself starting to tremble, and she had to fight the urge to curl up into a ball. Once they left the alcove, the cat realized that the rain had stopped and the light was now dimly lighting the sewers, morning light. She looked up at her captor. He was green, wearing a red cloth over his eyes, with a shell. That's what her claws had hit. She could just barely see the faint scratches she'd left behind. He was a turtle. She knew those! He wasn't looking at her at the moment, currently focusing on the still partially open manhole cover. Her panic fled away, and excitement took its place. The TV said turtles were the good guys. 

“Are you a ninja turtle?” she asked, her voice sounding small in the tunnels. The turtle's reaction was immediate. His head swiveled towards her, surprised at first, and then he closed his green eyes, sighed, and lifted his other arm, as if he was going to put his hand on his face... except there wasn't another hand. In its place, there was a bandaged stump. He let it drop once he figured out the gesture was useless.

“Mikey,” he muttered, exasperated, though the cat didn't understand why. “Yeah, kid. I guess I am. What are you doing down here? Where are your parents?” 

“I don't know,” she whispered, tears welling up in her eyes. Partially because he'd mentioned her parents that she missed dearly, and partially because now she thought she was saved. 

The turtle sighed again and put her down gently, “Don't run, okay?” She nodded and he continued. “I'm just gonna close that manhole, and then I'll help you find your folks, okay?” She nodded again, and as he went to do what he had said, she scrambled over to pick up her dropped mouse. It was almost dry. By the time she returned, he was getting down from the ladder. He held out his hand, and she ran over to take it. “What's your name, kid?”

“Billie. What's yours?” she looked up at him, adoringly.

“Raph. Come on, let's go get you somethin' to eat and make a few calls.” 

A few hours later...

The kid had scarfed down the leftovers from last night's Chinese as if she hadn't eaten in days- and honestly, with the state of what was going on topside, she probably hadn't. For now, she was asleep on the ratty old 'family' couch, with cartoons playing on the small TV in front of her. Raph had even managed to find her a semi-clean pillow and blanket. He was kind of glad he'd managed to clean the place up over the last few weeks. It had been hard to do while recovering from his injury, but necessary. He was tired of living in his own filth. Rommel had helped.

Now his friends had risked their lives to come to him. April sat with him around a kitchen table. A box of Shadow's old clothes and a few toys on the floor between them. Casey was on the surface, guarding the van for the short visit.

“I'd take her on, Raph,” April was saying, her head in her hands from just the thought of a little girl on her own since the mutagen bomb incident. “But it's dangerous out there for both sides. If the wrong people find out we have her, they'll kill her and us.”

“I know, April,” Raph tried to sound reassuring. He had been hoping that April would be able to house her while he tried to find her parents... if they were still alive. A sewer was no place for a kid. He knew, he grew up in one. The mounting tension on the surface was getting violent. Very violent. Deep down, he knew that he couldn't rely on Casey and April for this one. They had their own family to think of. “I'll keep her here until I can either find her family or a place for her to be.” As if on queue a set of tufted black ears popped over the back of the couch. Billie wasn't so great at hiding yet. “Come on out,” Raph called to her, and those ears were quickly followed by a tuft of black hair and a small cat face.

If it was possible for April to melt she would have. 

“Oh, she's so cute. Hi, I'm April.”

“I know,” said the girl, studying the woman who sat at the table. “You're not wearing yellow, though?” April exchanged a confused glance with Raph before fully understanding. She laughed when she realized. 

“No, I'm not. I only wore yellow for a while,” April took the existence of Mikey's Saturday morning cartoons better than Raph could ever hope to. It was also a lie, the yellow jumpsuit was never a part of her wardrobe. Turning back to the turtle she continued, “I should go. Casey will have a bird if I'm gone too long.”

“Yeah, I know. Thanks for the dry clothes, and stuff, April. I'll keep you posted,” Raph got up to escort the human woman to the lair entrance. He had found Billie because some punks had hopped into the sewer to try to get further into Mutant Town. That's why the manhole cover had been off. Now he didn't dare let April travel alone, even though he knew she could handle herself.

Once he got back to the lair, he found Billie already in clean clothes, even if they were too big, her old ones discarded in a pile. There was some saying about cats being fastidious, wasn't there? “Alright, kiddo,” he scooped her up, and tried to keep a gruff demeanor when she giggled. She really was cute. “How about some more cartoons, and pizza?” May as well feed the stereotype that Mikey perpetuated. Besides. The idea made her cheer and crawl up to cuddle him when he sat down. 

And she was really cute.

**Author's Note:**

> This is merely the prologue, showing how the main heroine of the story Billie came to be in the company of a certain Ninja Turtle. The story will be bouncing between the current setting (a few years in the near future) to flashbacks of Billie's life.


End file.
